


What are you doing New Year's Eve?

by PrinceSixFingers



Category: Gravity Falls
Genre: Flirting, Fluff and Angst, Instance of underage drinking, Kissing, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-31
Updated: 2020-12-31
Packaged: 2021-03-11 01:40:53
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,830
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28456977
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PrinceSixFingers/pseuds/PrinceSixFingers
Summary: It's the last night of the year in Glass Shard Beach and the Pines Twins have different plans for evening.
Relationships: Ford Pines & Stan Pines, Ford Pines/Stan Pines
Comments: 2
Kudos: 22





	What are you doing New Year's Eve?

**Author's Note:**

> Inspired by numerous renditions of the the fics title, (namely the Henry Connick, Jr. and Seth MacFarlane versions [which I highly recommend listening to to heighten the mood]) I felt like NYE doesn't get enough love. Even though it can be a kind of mixed bag as far as experiences go for everyone, it tends to be one of my favorite holidays because I've had so many special ones. Thusly, I had to write one for the Stan twins that isn't based on any I've had before!
> 
> Maybe I'm being a little too cute by getting this out on the last day of the year, but that's pretty fitting, isn't it? This has been in the works for almost two years (?) now and I'm so glad with how it came out! I hope enough people are able to read it in time for it to be festive or the last thing you read before 2021! haha   
> As always, I love feedback and can't wait to read your comments.
> 
> Happy New Years Everyone! I hope it'll be a better year for us all! <3

“Yes sir… I understand. I promise everything will be just as you and mom left it when you return.”

Stan overhears Ford on the phone as he finishes getting ready to head out. Stan actually got invited to a party on New Year’s Eve and figures going beats staying in with the folks for the 17th year in a row. He asked Ford to come with him, but Ford didn’t feel right going without being personally invited himself - typical Proper-Ford.

“Tell mom not to worry about me. I’ll be fine on my own… You two enjoy the rest of your evening. Happy early New Year’s. Good night, pops.”

“So, what did the old man call about?” Stan asks, leaning against the doorway to the living room.

“Oh, pop just called to say he and mom won’t be home tonight. It seems mom had a little too much to drink and dad doesn’t want to drive her home when she’s not feeling well,” Ford explains. He’s still clutching the phone, his other hand idly playing with the cord.

“It sounded like he was calling from the gala; very loud on his end. Anyway, he said they’ll get a room for the night and be back tomorrow arou-“

“So you’re gonna be here by yourself tonight?” Stan interjects suddenly.

“I suppose so. I could hear mom over the noise in the background. I’m not sure she knew how loud she was, even on my end,” Ford chuckles. “Dad said she’s worried about me since she knew I didn’t have any plans tonight.”

“Well I’m glad you told them not to worry ‘cuz they got no reason ta be now. Looks like I’ll be stayin’ in tonight!” Stan announces robustly. He quickly unzips his hoodie, hands on his hips with his chest puffed out in a Superman-pose.

“Stanley, no! I’m not some damsel who needs saving from a lack of plans on New Year’s Eve! I am perfectly capable of enjoying the night by myself, thank you,” Ford protests. He’s frantically trying to hang the phone up now and successfully jams it on the receiver after his fourth attempt. Stan can see his brother trying to put on a brave front, but he knows him far better than that.

“Give me a little credit, Sixer – savin’ you’s what I do best. Nightmares, bullies, lack of plans… you name it,” Stan shrugs. “Besides, a damsel as cute as you deserves to be saved by a prince every once in a while.”

Ford immediately colors, his eyes shying away from Stan’s. Even though Ford is his brother, Stan has picked up a bad habit of flirting with him. He can’t help it if he finds his older twin’s habits to be cute. Besides, it’s just harmless fun. Ford seems to like it and as far as Stan’s concerned that’s all that matters.

“If anyone’s a prince around here, it’s me,” Ford counters playfully. “I’d say you’re more in line with a knight, honestly.”

“Then I guess that makes me you’re knight in shining armor, my prince,” Stan boasts, bowing his head as he takes a knee. Walking towards his brother Ford extends his arm out, mock-anointing Stan’s shoulders. Stan looks up, giving Ford quick wink.

“You really don’t have to stay, Stan,” Ford chuckles as he flops onto the couch. Stan hangs his hoodie up before he begins untying his laces. Watching Stan take off his shoes makes the feeling of remorse deepen that much more.

“Of course, I do!” Stan argues. “I’m not letting you ring in the new year by yourself.”

“Stan, you and I never get invited to anything. If either of us is going out tonight because someone wants us at _their_ party there’s no reason we shouldn’t go.”

“Yeah, well _we_ ain’t goin’ so _I_ ain’t leavin’,” Stan defends. “If you wanted to come with me maybe this’d be a different discussion. But since you’re so hellbent on stayin’ in by yourself that ain’t gonna happen!”

“I wouldn’t know anyone there. Plus, I know you’ve had your eyes on Cassie for ages. I’ve heard she was going. You should be there for her alone,” Ford contests. He hopes Stan can’t hear the wanton in his voice. As much as Ford truly wants Stan to go out tonight he can’t help it if his voice betrays him.

“Really Sixer, I’m fine,” Stan reassures. “I don’t think either of us thought mom and pops would be gone over night. Goin’ off ta that party at the last minute just so they could rub elbows with Glass Shard Beach’s upper crust wasn’t planned.”

“You’ve got a point there. Who would have thought Martha Van Buren called psychics? If mom didn’t know it was her over phone she never would have guessed that Martha ‘would meet a clairvoyant new friend tonight’.”

“Exactly.”

“Still, I don’t want you staying in on my behalf. I want you to have a good time tonight.”

“You know what?” Stan huffs, slightly annoyed as he slowly proceeds to shed what’s left of his clothes, starting by peeling off his white tee. He flings it at Ford, whose expression can only be described as dumbfounded, before his hands drift lower. He hooks his thumbs into the waist of his jeans as Ford fumbles with Stan’s shirt.

“Wh-what are you doing Stanley?” Ford stammers. He wads up his brother’s shirt, face getting redder by the second.

“I’m makin’ it crystal clear that my plans tonight’ve changed! I ain’t goin’ out! I’m stayin’ in and makin’ sure we ring in the new year together,” Stan proclaims, all the while undoing his jeans. He lets them fall to the floor as Ford becomes even more dismayed, trying to process what’s happening before him. As he starts to lower his boxers Ford shoves Stan’s shirt in his face in for the sake of his purity.

“Ok, ok! You’ve made your point!” Ford tries his best to sound sincere, but even he knows what he just witnessed was very titillating. He’d be lying if he hadn’t wanted to see what came next. Not only that, with his brother’s shirt shoved in his face he can’t help but take in its scent, picking up a hint of sweat and Stan’s distinct cologne – Midnight Grifter. He savors this for a bit, enjoying the lovely combination.

“Are you decent?” He finally asks, shirt still blocking his view. There’s no response. “Think you could have used more cologne?”

This question prompts a distant laugh. Ford removes the shirt to see Stan coming back from their room, having put on pajama bottoms. Still shirtless, Ford gratefully takes in the view of Stan’s hunky frame.

While it’s true that the two of them are twins, they aren’t entirely identical. For instance, Ford didn’t quite have the physical aptitude Stanley did. Despite pretty much having the same diet as each other, mass just stuck to Stan more than it did Ford. This caused Stan to fill out more. Coupled with Stan’s boxing and weight lifting, the younger twin had a solid frame to be proud of. Sure, there might be a slight bit of paunch around the midsection, but with pecs and biceps as pronounced as Stan’s it was hardly the first thing your eyes gravitated towards.

Which was exactly the case as Ford found himself staring at his brother as Stan approached him on the couch. He could hear someone speaking, but it sounded far fainter and further away than Stan had been. It wasn’t until Stan was bent over, meeting Ford’s gaze face to face, that he realized he was being spoken to.

“Hello? Earth to Poindexter!” Stan calls snapping his fingers. Being this close Stan’s cologne rich scent comes through much stronger, almost sending Ford back to his dream-like state. Shaking his head, he blinks away his stare, giving Stan his complete attention. Stan cocks his head at this and continues, “You mind givin’ my shirt back?”

“Oh! Right, yes, of course,” Ford stammers, fumbling with the shirt for a bit too long. He shoves the shirt at Stan, eyes unable to connect with his twin’s. Stan chuckles and takes it, slipping it on slowly. Ford can’t watch - he knows he wouldn’t be able to hide how much he’d enjoy the show.

“So, what should we do?” Stan asks. He flops on the couch, kicking his legs up onto his brother’s lap. Ford finally brings his gaze back to Stan, pleased with the view he has from his end of the couch.

“Well, I think I should make some popcorn to eat with my Twilight Zone marathon,” Ford ponders aloud, then adds under his breath, “and I still think you should go to that party.”

“I’m gonna pop ya if you bring up that party one more time!” Stan snaps. Swinging his legs off of Ford, Stan stomps off towards the kitchen.

“What are you doing?” Ford calls from living room. He hears a cabinet slam shut, followed the loud popping of kernels.

“I’m going to enjoy my New Years Eve _with you_ , whether _you_ like it or not!” Stan calls back. As the popping stops Ford hears the fridge slam. Turning back towards the source of all this noise, Stan appears with a large bowl of popcorn in one hand and two cans of Pitt soda in the other.

Ford, as conflicted as he is, finally accepts that Stan isn’t going anywhere. On one hand he’s relieved he gets to spend the evening with his brother, but on the other he can’t help but feel like he’s keeping Stan from something more… promising.

“I’m sorry Stan,” Ford apologizes. “I swear I won’t bring up the party again. I love spending time with you. You know that, don’t you?”

“Yeah, yeah, yeah,” Stan huffs. He takes a long, noisy slurp of soda before sinking into his side of the coach, swinging his feet up onto the coffee table.

Ford notices this. Not wanting to irk his brother any further, he chooses not to comment on it. The two of them sit through a few episodes in near silence. Ford makes comments here and there, prompting Stan to grumble or shrug in response up.

During a commercial break Ford steals a glance at Stan and notices his twin isn’t even watching the show anymore, gaze now fixed somewhere else.

“If you want to find something else to watch I don’t mind changing the channel,” Ford proposes.

“It ain’t the show,” Stan sighs. He idly sips from his soda, eyes still distant.

“Then what is it? It’s pretty obvious you’re not having a good time.” Stan shifts in his seat, bringing his legs in and crossing them as he finally looks at Ford with a pained expression. His hands rest in his lap, messing with the almost-empty soda can.

“I mean… you really pushed for me to go out tonight. I’m sure it was comin’ from a good place, but I kinda got the feelin’ you seriously didn’t want me around,” Stan relinquishes. “Sorry Sixer, I’m not tryin’ to be a buzzkill or anything… It just hurt me a little, ‘s’all.”

Immediately Ford feels that much worse for giving Stan such a hard time for just trying to keep him company. As well intentioned as Ford had been, even if he had thought he was trying to get Stan to do what he wanted, he wasn’t actually listening to his brother.

“Stanley, you know I love having you around! There isn’t anyone else I’d rather spend my time with-“

“Yeah, yeah, yeah. We’re twins and you’re stuck with me ‘n you probably get sick of bein’ together all the time,” Stan sighs.

“I’m sorry for being so insistent… I just figured you’d have a better time at an actual party on New Years than at home with your dorky brother.”

“Honestly, the only reason I was so hellbent on goin’ together was ‘cuz I was looking forward to all the firsts we coulda had… our first New Year’s away from mom and pop, first actual party, first time drinkin’, first kisses...” Stan’s voice becomes softer towards that last bit as his gaze shies away from Ford.

“I guess I just thought… this might be our only chance to celebrate, just us two. I know, how does that track if we’re at a house party? I mean, ya know, I wouldn’ta known all that many more people than you woulda and I figured we’d just be left alone… carve out our own little corner there and just… wring in the new year together.”

“Stanley…”

“I know that’s an awful lotta wishful thinkin’, but I also know things can’t be like this forever, us bein’ together as much as we are. We talk about finishin’ up the Stan O’ War and sailin’ away, but I know better than to think that’ll be how we wind up once you graduate. But a guy can dream, right?”

Ford sits there, astonished. He never would have guessed his night had a chance at being that… perfect. He knew better than anyone that he would have been out of place if he’d gone tonight and he figured Stan would have been preoccupied with mingling or drinking games or trying to get girls. Why didn’t it ever occur to him that the one thing Stan would have wanted was to spend that time with him?

He imagines, now, how all that prodding and pushing Stan to go alone must have felt considering everything he just heard. The actual party might have been a perk, but it was experiencing everything it would have entailed with Ford that Stan had really been after. All those memories Stan wanted to make with his brother while they still had the chance…. before something in Ford’s own future might have caused their joint path to part.

Ford has unknowingly been a royal jerk all night. Well intentioned, sure, but that didn’t change the fact that he’d let his brother down. He glances away from him to check the time, seeing it’s almost midnight. He wants to -no- _needs_ to make it up to Stan. He may not be able to make a party out of just the two of them, but their parents are out for the night and he’ll be damned if he can’t give Stan’s year the send off it deserves.

“Stanley, pretend it’s last week. Pretend I have no idea that you’ve been invited yet. Pretend we haven’t spent the last 17 December thirty-firsts together. Ask me about what my plans for that night will be,” Ford prompts abruptly. He gives his brother a warm smile. Stan blinks away his wistful expression, taken aback, but plays along.

“Uh… sure,” he croaks. “So, what are you doing New Year’s Eve?”

“I’m wringing in the new year with you!”

And with that, Ford snatches the remote from in between them. He quickly changes the channel to one showing Time Square before bounding over the back of the couch towards the kitchen. He opens their parent’s liquor cabinet and grabs their mom’s celebratory bottle of champagne as well as the corkscrew in the back.

He’s watched her open enough bottles to know how to keep the spectacle to a minimum. Not bothering with formalities, he grabs two crude mugs and pours them each a drink. Moving quickly back to the couch, he hands one to Stan and sits down, this time right next to his brother. Stan, for his part has kept up with Ford’s unspoken train of thought. A slow smile creeps into place as he gives his brother a gentle nudge on the shoulder.

“Stanley, I’m sorry if tonight wasn’t what you had in mind, but I want you to know that I’ve enjoyed it more than I would have if you hadn’t been present. Just having you here with me, indulging me as I watch something you wouldn’t normally… probably something you do more often than I’ve really considered, until now.”

“You could stand to watch more cartoons,” Stan ribs.

Ford chuckles. Out of the corner of his eye, he sees the clock on the TV start counting down.

“Fair enough. Now then, a toast to you for always making everything better,” Ford offers, lifting his mug towards Stan. Stan raises his in return with the two meeting right as the ball drops. They down their drinks and Ford immediately reacts to the tartness in his mouth. Stan watches his face wince and laughs, somehow unfazed by the same taste.

“Happy New Year, Stanley,” Ford musters out. Ford leans over, closing the small gap between them before he kisses his brother. Half out of impulse and half out of the need to get the taste out of his mouth, it’s returned rather quickly. As the taste in Ford’s mouth becomes sweeter, Stan pulls away, face flushed.

“Happy New Year, Ford,” he coos, before pulling Ford in for another kiss.


End file.
